The actor Gene Hackman was found dead in a mud room in his New Mexico home and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found dead on the floor of a bathroom on Wednesday, according to a search warrant affidavit. An open prescription bottle and scattered pills were discovered on a counter in the bathroom.
A dead German shepherd was found between 10 and 15 feet away from Ms. Arakawa in a closet of the bathroom, the affidavit said. There were no obvious signs of a gas leak in the home, it said, and the Fire Department did not find signs of a carbon monoxide leak.
Detective Roy Arndt wrote in the affidavit that sheriff’s deputies reported to the home on Wednesday afternoon after a maintenance worker made an emergency call. One of the deputies found Ms. Arakawa lying on her side on the bathroom floor with a space heater near her head, the affidavit said. The deputy who found her said he suspected that the heater could have fallen with Ms. Arakawa, the filing said.
Ms. Arakawa’s body showed signs of decomposition, the affidavit said. Two other dogs were found alive on the property.
The deputies found Ms. Arakawa first and then discovered Mr. Hackman lying in the mud room, with his body in a similar condition to his wife’s, the affidavit said.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza of Santa Fe County said in a phone interview that investigators were still trying to determine what caused their deaths, noting that there were no obvious signs of trauma to the bodies and that no note had been found. The sheriff said the home was continuing to be searched on Thursday.
“At this stage in the process there isn’t anything obvious like that,” he said. “The autopsy is going to tell us more.”
A previous statement sent out early Thursday by the sheriff’s office said that foul play was not suspected.
The couple was found in their home in a secluded neighborhood high above downtown Santa Fe, with winding roads and views of the mountains.
Mr. Hackman moved to Santa Fe County in the 1980s after filming some movies there. After he quietly retired from Hollywood more than two decades ago, he wrote several historical adventure novels with a friend. He was seen from time to time in downtown Santa Fe.
One of Hollywood’s classic “Everyman” actors, Mr. Hackman was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two during a 40-year career. His appeared in films that were seen by millions, including “Bonnie and Clyde,” “The French Connection,” “The Poseidon Adventure,” “Mississippi Burning,” “Unforgiven,” “Superman,” “Hoosiers” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.”
